(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005)
Nagel, Kristine Susanne; Hudson, James M.; Abowd, Gregory D.
Much previous research in availability, whether in the office or in the home, has developed linear regression models to help predict appropriate times for interruption. Although these models work well, they tend to be accurate only about 75% of the time. In this paper, we reconceptualize this problem as one of determining routines, rather than availability. We show that the same sensor measures, which predict availability accurately 75% of the time, can predict individual routines accurately 90% - 97% of the time. We argue that better identification of routines can help us to better identify individual availability, as we can develop more tailored models of individual availability in given household routines. In this paper, we also present findings from a day reconstruction method (DayRM) study, which provides more detailed descriptions of three routines in the home: mealtime, bedtime, and leisure.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2001)
Nagel, Kristine Susanne; Kidd, Cory D.; O'Connell, Thomas; Dey, Anind K.; Abowd, Gregory D.
We have begun an exploration of how ubiquitous computing technology can facilitate different forms of audio communication within a family. We are interested in both intra- and inter-home communication. Though much technology exists to support this human-human communication, none of them make effective use of the context of the communication partners. In the Aware Home Research Initiative, we are exploring how to augment a domestic envi-ronment with knowledge of the location and activities of its occupants. The Family Intercom project is trying to explore how this context can be used to create a variety of lightweight communication opportunities between collo-cated and remote family members. It is particularly important that context about the status of the callee be communicated to the caller, so that the appropriate social protocol for continuing a conversation can be performed by the caller. In this paper, we will discuss our initial prototypes to develop a testbed for exploring these context-aware audio communication services.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2000)
Kidd, Cory D.; O'Connell, Thomas; Nagel, Kristine Susanne; Patil, Sameer; Abowd, Gregory D.
As we enable everyday environments with ubiquitous technology, there are many opportunities to support simple activities in useful ways. We are investigating how an environment made aware of the location and activities of its occupants can better support direct human-human communication. Specifically, we have instrumented a home to explore lightweight, spontaneous hands-free communication between residents in different parts of the home. Our working prototype demonstrates how existing technologies of voice recognition, indoor positioning and audio routing lay the foundation for the exploration of a variety of more intelligent alternatives to the traditional home intercom system. We show how context can be used to mediate the initiation and management of one- and two-way audio connections between residents, supporting a range of within-home conversational patterns. In this paper, we describe a variety of home communication scenarios and the general infrastructure we have built to explore them.